As evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, "Let us cross to the other side of the lake." So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with His head on a cushion. The disciples woke Him up, shouting, "Teacher, don't you care that we are going to drown?" When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly, the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then He asked them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:35-40
Many years ago, I heard a pastor teach on this passage. What stuck with me all this time was that Jesus said, "go to the other side" and He wouldn't have said go to the other side if going to the other side was impossible.
I am certain that this was one of many instances that Jesus used to build faith in the disciples, and I am certain the Jesus uses situations in our lives in the same way. Each time we go through a hard situation, we come out on the other side with stronger faith. Faith is like a muscle; it has to be exercised and challenged in order to become stronger.
God uses times of struggle and challenge to build our faith, and then He uses us to guide others to the other side of the same struggle. When we become survivors, God calls us to come alongside others in the battle and help them survive. You may have survived illness, cancer, depression, anxiety, infertility, addiction, abuse, or a myriad of other hard situations. But now you are strong and you are equipped to shine a light and lead the way through the darkness to the other side.
I love the cancer awareness motto, "no one fights alone". As Christians, that should be our battle cry...NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE! We should be the first to jump in beside someone fighting a hard battle. Jesus is always with us, and He can calm the wind and the waves surrounding us.
We are living in a time where fear and isolation are running amuck. Let us not lose heart, my friends. Jesus is with us. Let us link arms, stand firm, and go to the other side!
